Many many years ago, bear with me here lol, I was laying in my back yard of my condo I owned in Kamloops. I had pretty much cut my thumb off and after a two hour operation to sew it back on, they put a cast from my fingertips to my elbow on my left arm. I had been trying to separate two glasses full of water that had stuck together. Being the impatient type, I didn't drain them first and voila! break and cut. But I digress.
So one day in sunny hot May I decided to sunbathe and see how brown my arm would get compared to the part under the cast. I dragged a little radio out which was attached to a loooong extension cord to help pass the time. It happened to get only one station and that station was going on and on about the ten day Falkland war. It was 1981 and I became very interested in that battle. I started to listen avidly.
And something happened. I decided then and there, swore to myself as a matter of fact, that one day, sometime in the future I was going to visit that island way down at the bottom of the earth. There wasn't a term 'bucket list' back then but that was basically where I put that promise to my self.
And next October in 2020, if we are still alive and the creek don't rise, I am going to finally be able to cross that off my bucket list!!!!!!!!!Yup!!!!! Today I purchased a cruise for Monte, Peter and I to South America!!! Peter has been saving his money, Monte has been putting into his travel fund and so have I. And ten months from now we will definitely have it completely paid for.
We start in Vancouver on the Westerdam. It ends in Buenos Aires. It starts on Oct. 7 and ends on November Friday the 13th. The itinerary is amazing. Two stops in California, two in Mexico, one in Guatemala, one in Nicaragua, one in Panama, one in Ecuador, three in Peru, five in Chili, Strait of Magellan, one in Ushuaia (southern most town in the world), Around the Cape Horn, PORT STANLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS, YES YES YES!!!!!, one stop in Uruguay, then we finish with a couple of nights in Buenos Aires! OMG!!!
It hasn't quite sunk in yet! It will be nice for Monte to have Peter along. Peter and Monte will want to go swimming and drinking and nighttime activitying, and I don't. It will be a lot more fun for them. Woot Woot!!!!!
Its New Year's Eve. Monte is out with his band and I am Netflixing...in spite of the fact that Telus told me I am completely out of bandwidth or whatever its called. Still cheaper than out drinking and carousing. (shovel list). Not my thing. And I see it is my dear friend Dean's birthday today! Happy Birthday Dean!!! What a wonderful night to be born!!!! I hope you had a lovely day!
I am going to sign off now. A humungous huge HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends here. You have no idea how much you all keep me sane. Thank you!!!!! Love y'all....TTY next year!!!!
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Friday, December 27, 2019
ANOTHER ONE DOWN
Well there is another Christmas done and put away. Okay, the tree is still up, but all the presents have been put away, all the wrapping accoutrement has been dealt with, the leftovers are gone, left over shortbread and tarts into the freezer and guest bed restored to readiness.
We made a trip to Costco in Nanaimo yesterday. I heard on the news that due to Black Friday, Boxing Day was pretty calm. Based on this report we decided to go to the big mall in Nanaimo as well. Big Mistake!!!!! It took about five minutes to just turn into the parking lot from the road. And then the line of vehicles crawling along went two directions, both from one end of the massive mall to the other, trying to exit. And there certainly wasn't even one parking space in the thousands and thousands that are in that mall.
We made the immediate decision to abandon any thought of trying to go in. Took another 15 minutes to get out of there. At one point poor Peter, who sincerely needed the loo, bailed out and walked over to Costco after and met us there. And surprisingly Costco wasn't that busy.
It was a hairy trip home. At some point it became dark out and the rain turned to sleet and then snow. I had heard on the news that Port was going to get snow. They actually said the words, Port Alberni, not something we ever hear out of any newscaster or weatherman on the BC news (unless we have two murdering little jerks from here). It was pretty hard to believe as the sun was shining, the birds were singing, (actually it was seagulls but a bird is a bird)it was warm (ish) out. Snow didn't seem possible. Man! we were wrong. It was butt ugly out there.
But even though visibility was nil, sleet and snow were pounding down, wind was blowing, there were still people stopped at the Grove! What the hell...people are crazy. I will never figure them out. In fact I've quit trying!
Christmas Day was a beautiful day. What a gift!!! We decided to drive out to Sproat Lake and walk out to the Petroglyphs. Along the way we saw the Mars bomber....at a distance mind you but exciting just the same. I broke my fifty steps a day rule....did a kilometre. I only had to find a log twice which wasn't too bad. And a wonderful xmas gift to us was a beautiful beautiful sunset. Such a lovely day.
Well its time for me to get at the day. Monte has a psychiatrist appointment today and I am going to go with him. We kind of want to address his tiredness...which is probably a lot to do with the very necessary meds he's on. We shall see. TTYL
We made a trip to Costco in Nanaimo yesterday. I heard on the news that due to Black Friday, Boxing Day was pretty calm. Based on this report we decided to go to the big mall in Nanaimo as well. Big Mistake!!!!! It took about five minutes to just turn into the parking lot from the road. And then the line of vehicles crawling along went two directions, both from one end of the massive mall to the other, trying to exit. And there certainly wasn't even one parking space in the thousands and thousands that are in that mall.
We made the immediate decision to abandon any thought of trying to go in. Took another 15 minutes to get out of there. At one point poor Peter, who sincerely needed the loo, bailed out and walked over to Costco after and met us there. And surprisingly Costco wasn't that busy.
It was a hairy trip home. At some point it became dark out and the rain turned to sleet and then snow. I had heard on the news that Port was going to get snow. They actually said the words, Port Alberni, not something we ever hear out of any newscaster or weatherman on the BC news (unless we have two murdering little jerks from here). It was pretty hard to believe as the sun was shining, the birds were singing, (actually it was seagulls but a bird is a bird)it was warm (ish) out. Snow didn't seem possible. Man! we were wrong. It was butt ugly out there.
But even though visibility was nil, sleet and snow were pounding down, wind was blowing, there were still people stopped at the Grove! What the hell...people are crazy. I will never figure them out. In fact I've quit trying!
Christmas Day was a beautiful day. What a gift!!! We decided to drive out to Sproat Lake and walk out to the Petroglyphs. Along the way we saw the Mars bomber....at a distance mind you but exciting just the same. I broke my fifty steps a day rule....did a kilometre. I only had to find a log twice which wasn't too bad. And a wonderful xmas gift to us was a beautiful beautiful sunset. Such a lovely day.
Well its time for me to get at the day. Monte has a psychiatrist appointment today and I am going to go with him. We kind of want to address his tiredness...which is probably a lot to do with the very necessary meds he's on. We shall see. TTYL
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| Add caption |
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| MARS BOMBER |
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| PETER LIGHTING THE MENORAH |
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| PETROGLYPHS |
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
FABULOUS DAY!!!! WARNING: THIS WHOLE POST IS ABOUT FOOD!!!
As it says in the title of this post, we had a fabulous day! Monte got sick, really sick and was awol for all of this day which was super sad. But other than that it was a wonderful day.
Bradley, Aryn, April and Myles all went out this morning to pick up the roast for dinner and they ended up at the golf course for breakfast. They arrived home around lunch time with half a cow. LOL!!!
That roast was a six boner prime rib...fourteen pounds. And what is normally about 35 bucks a pound anywhere else, in our butcher shop here it was only 14 a pound, that's like the cost of hamburger in some places.
It only took two hours to cook. I had thawed out some bone marrow fat that I prepared earlier and used it on the yorkies. Aryn super helped with that. I am still new at using fat for them. OMG!!! They turned out beautifully and I have to say thanks to her for that!
Another huge bonus with this dinner is that there was enough potatoes left over from the turkey dinner the night before to reheat for this dinner. And the yams didn't cook for the turkey dinner so I finished cooking them for this dinner. This made this dinner incredibly easy! Pics below!
Stan and Antonia arrived around three and we had the best best best time with them! They just add so much to the mix! After dinner Antonia read a delightful story from her book. It was simply a charming wonderful moment. After recovering from dinner we chowed down on an amazing trifle she had brought and lemon tarts. What a wonderful wonderful family filled day. We were just sad that Monte wasn't able to join us. Stan and Antonia left around 11 and we all sat around in a food haze then hit the sack.
Aryn and Bradley had to get up and leave by 5:30 am the next morning. April and Myles didn't have to leave until about four in the afternoon. So we had a lovely easy day. I sent most of the leftover meat home with them all. But there was enough left here to really enjoy for supper last night.
Peter is on his way home from Vancouver as we speak. Monte is over at the store getting last minute things for tonight. Just the three of us are going to have spinach dip, crab dip, Doritos and cheese sauce, sweet and sour meat balls. The meatballs are made in the crock pot and done with sauerkraut and cranberries. Will be interesting to see how they turn out.
Its Hanukkah now and we will be lighting the candles tonight. We were waiting for Peter to help us do it right. I think next year we will read up on it more thoroughly and do it right.
So now its time to put this down and get to it! TTYL
Bradley, Aryn, April and Myles all went out this morning to pick up the roast for dinner and they ended up at the golf course for breakfast. They arrived home around lunch time with half a cow. LOL!!!
That roast was a six boner prime rib...fourteen pounds. And what is normally about 35 bucks a pound anywhere else, in our butcher shop here it was only 14 a pound, that's like the cost of hamburger in some places.
It only took two hours to cook. I had thawed out some bone marrow fat that I prepared earlier and used it on the yorkies. Aryn super helped with that. I am still new at using fat for them. OMG!!! They turned out beautifully and I have to say thanks to her for that!
Another huge bonus with this dinner is that there was enough potatoes left over from the turkey dinner the night before to reheat for this dinner. And the yams didn't cook for the turkey dinner so I finished cooking them for this dinner. This made this dinner incredibly easy! Pics below!
Stan and Antonia arrived around three and we had the best best best time with them! They just add so much to the mix! After dinner Antonia read a delightful story from her book. It was simply a charming wonderful moment. After recovering from dinner we chowed down on an amazing trifle she had brought and lemon tarts. What a wonderful wonderful family filled day. We were just sad that Monte wasn't able to join us. Stan and Antonia left around 11 and we all sat around in a food haze then hit the sack.
Aryn and Bradley had to get up and leave by 5:30 am the next morning. April and Myles didn't have to leave until about four in the afternoon. So we had a lovely easy day. I sent most of the leftover meat home with them all. But there was enough left here to really enjoy for supper last night.
Peter is on his way home from Vancouver as we speak. Monte is over at the store getting last minute things for tonight. Just the three of us are going to have spinach dip, crab dip, Doritos and cheese sauce, sweet and sour meat balls. The meatballs are made in the crock pot and done with sauerkraut and cranberries. Will be interesting to see how they turn out.
Its Hanukkah now and we will be lighting the candles tonight. We were waiting for Peter to help us do it right. I think next year we will read up on it more thoroughly and do it right.
So now its time to put this down and get to it! TTYL
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| MAKING STUFFING AND DRINKING BUCKS FIZZ, THE BRITISH PHRASE FOR MIMOSAS |
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| ENJOYING THE TURKEY MAKING TOO MUCH...NOTE MY AWESOME APRON THAT MYLES GAVE ME!!!! |
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| TURKEY DINNER |
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| KING STANLEY AND THE AMAZING ROAST |
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| LE FLEUR, STAN AND ANTONIA'S LITTLE DOG WHO PATIENTLY WORE THOSE GLASSES....DID NOT TAKE THEM OFF |
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| HALF THE XMAS EVE SPREAD |
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| I FORGOT TO DEFROST THE TURKEY....SO WE PUT HIM IN THE SINK AND WORKED AWAY AT HIS INNARDS, YANKING ON THE GIANT NECK INSIDE TRYING TO GET IT OUT. POOR THING |
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| HMMMMMM........ |
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| THE ROAST DINNER |
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| THAT BIG JUG IS FULL OF GRAVY |
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| AND THERE IT IS |
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| THE AMAZING TRIFLE |
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| THE FINAL PICTURE BEFORE THEY LEFT |
Monday, December 23, 2019
EARLY CHRISTMAS
Its early early and I am sitting all by myself in my incredibly messy living room in the dark. We had a xmas explosion last night! There is no other way to put it!!!
I don't remember where I left off but I guess it doesn't really matter. This last week has been busy getting ready for this busy weekend. Cleaning, prepping, cooking, baking, wrapping, trips to the grocery store. And then after all that I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer until midnight last night! Fortunately I don't stuff it. I do the stuffing in the crock pot so it doesn't really matter. You can cook a turkey from totally frozen if need be, but I actually never have.
April and Myles arrived Thursday night and we had a lovely evening sitting around, snacking on a chicken soup I made just before they came and visiting. Peter has gone to Vancouver for a few days. I miss him. Especially early in the morning when he would come up and we would solve the world's problems over a cup of coffee. But Monte was up super early and April came upstairs so it was the three of us sitting around and gabbing over coffee.
Ape and I went shopping all morning. We went to Nesguards...the nursery/market place we have been to before. And we discovered upon going through a certain door there, a room with probably over fifty decorated full sized xmas trees. Each tree was jammed full of ornaments, each tree with its own theme and totally beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time in there just looking at each tree. Amazing!
When we got home with all the necessary groceries we started prepping for the evenings food. Spinach dip, spring rolls, samosas, crab filled cucumber thingies, dry garlic ribs, chips and salsa, pickles, olives and booze booze booze! Then we sat around and impatiently waited for Bradley and Aryn.
We ate first then the present explosion! What wonderful gifts!!! We always get our pile then, starting with the youngest, go around and open one present at a time. And the presents this year were plentiful and perfect. We laughed and laughed and laughed til our poor stomachs couldn't take it anymore!!! After the presents we played jenga and 80's trivia. Bradley, a tad three sheets to the wind was so funny! What a guy!
I got some amazing, and tons, of presents. April and Myles gave me the most beautiful jug/pitcher. I will take a pic rather than try to describe it. So beautiful! And Aryn and Bradley gave me two trays. I had a tray on my wish list. Wait til you see the pics of them! One is, or was, a window at one time! And the other one is a gorgeous silver shimmery varnished one...stunning! And then a ton of other things, including my obligatory bag of bridge mix from Arnie. The living room looks like a bomb hit it!
So today is turkey day. And like Aryn pointed out last night, limping our way to bed, we ain't on any schedule, it doesn't matter how late we eat so we can enjoy what the day brings and eat when its ready, no matter the time. The only thing that must happen is I need to pick up the roast for tomorrow night's dinner.
One thing I must mention here. As I have said before, I have basically just let Wrangler kind of teach me what his routines are and what he knows how to do etc. This is kind of necessary when you rescue an old dog.
Well in the bottom of the xmas tree bag, the stinky one, I found an unwrapped little present for Molly from Elise and Fenton. Somehow it just got passed by and I have no idea how many xmases ago that was.
On a whim I gave it to Wrangler, and he gently took the wrapped gift in his mouth. He then put the present on the floor, immediately put a paw on it to anchor it, and quite delicately and methodically tore the paper off of that present, bit by bit! Clearly he had done this before and judging by his excitement before I gave him a gift, when he saw all the activity and presents, he was quite excited. And the moment I gave him that present, he knew exactly what to do! And inside was a bag of doggie treats! We opened it up and he got his treats! It was quite something.
So I have pics of all this and later I will get them onto the lappy and put some on here and share our early xmas eve with you. TTYL
I don't remember where I left off but I guess it doesn't really matter. This last week has been busy getting ready for this busy weekend. Cleaning, prepping, cooking, baking, wrapping, trips to the grocery store. And then after all that I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer until midnight last night! Fortunately I don't stuff it. I do the stuffing in the crock pot so it doesn't really matter. You can cook a turkey from totally frozen if need be, but I actually never have.
April and Myles arrived Thursday night and we had a lovely evening sitting around, snacking on a chicken soup I made just before they came and visiting. Peter has gone to Vancouver for a few days. I miss him. Especially early in the morning when he would come up and we would solve the world's problems over a cup of coffee. But Monte was up super early and April came upstairs so it was the three of us sitting around and gabbing over coffee.
Ape and I went shopping all morning. We went to Nesguards...the nursery/market place we have been to before. And we discovered upon going through a certain door there, a room with probably over fifty decorated full sized xmas trees. Each tree was jammed full of ornaments, each tree with its own theme and totally beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time in there just looking at each tree. Amazing!
When we got home with all the necessary groceries we started prepping for the evenings food. Spinach dip, spring rolls, samosas, crab filled cucumber thingies, dry garlic ribs, chips and salsa, pickles, olives and booze booze booze! Then we sat around and impatiently waited for Bradley and Aryn.
We ate first then the present explosion! What wonderful gifts!!! We always get our pile then, starting with the youngest, go around and open one present at a time. And the presents this year were plentiful and perfect. We laughed and laughed and laughed til our poor stomachs couldn't take it anymore!!! After the presents we played jenga and 80's trivia. Bradley, a tad three sheets to the wind was so funny! What a guy!
I got some amazing, and tons, of presents. April and Myles gave me the most beautiful jug/pitcher. I will take a pic rather than try to describe it. So beautiful! And Aryn and Bradley gave me two trays. I had a tray on my wish list. Wait til you see the pics of them! One is, or was, a window at one time! And the other one is a gorgeous silver shimmery varnished one...stunning! And then a ton of other things, including my obligatory bag of bridge mix from Arnie. The living room looks like a bomb hit it!
So today is turkey day. And like Aryn pointed out last night, limping our way to bed, we ain't on any schedule, it doesn't matter how late we eat so we can enjoy what the day brings and eat when its ready, no matter the time. The only thing that must happen is I need to pick up the roast for tomorrow night's dinner.
One thing I must mention here. As I have said before, I have basically just let Wrangler kind of teach me what his routines are and what he knows how to do etc. This is kind of necessary when you rescue an old dog.
Well in the bottom of the xmas tree bag, the stinky one, I found an unwrapped little present for Molly from Elise and Fenton. Somehow it just got passed by and I have no idea how many xmases ago that was.
On a whim I gave it to Wrangler, and he gently took the wrapped gift in his mouth. He then put the present on the floor, immediately put a paw on it to anchor it, and quite delicately and methodically tore the paper off of that present, bit by bit! Clearly he had done this before and judging by his excitement before I gave him a gift, when he saw all the activity and presents, he was quite excited. And the moment I gave him that present, he knew exactly what to do! And inside was a bag of doggie treats! We opened it up and he got his treats! It was quite something.
So I have pics of all this and later I will get them onto the lappy and put some on here and share our early xmas eve with you. TTYL
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| SOMEONE ALWAYS BRINGS GOOFY STUFF......APRIL |
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| HOR'S DORVEEEE TIME |
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| HAPPY PRESENT GETTING |
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| OH THE MESS |
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| BRADLEY EATING BRITISH CHOCOLATES |
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| HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO WITH HIS PRESENT...CLEARLY HAS DONE THIS BEFORE |
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| A LITTLE WRANGLER LOVE |
Saturday, December 21, 2019
I'M FREEZING
Its early early and I am sitting all by myself in my incredibly messy living room in the dark. We had a xmas explosion last night! There is no other way to put it!!!
I don't remember where I left off but I guess it doesn't really matter. This last week has been busy getting ready for this busy weekend. Cleaning, prepping, cooking, baking, wrapping, trips to the grocery store. And then after all that I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer until midnight last night! Fortunately I don't stuff it. I do the stuffing in the crock pot so it doesn't really matter. You can cook a turkey from totally frozen if need be, but I actually never have.
April and Myles arrived Thursday night and we had a lovely evening sitting around, snacking on a chicken soup I made just before they came and visiting. Peter has gone to Vancouver for a few days. I miss him. Especially early in the morning when he would come up and we would solve the world's problems over a cup of coffee. But Monte was up super early and April came upstairs so it was the three of us sitting around and gabbing over coffee.
Ape and I went shopping all morning. We went to Nesguards...the nursery/market place we have been to before. And we discovered upon going through a certain door there, a room with probably over fifty decorated full sized xmas trees. Each tree was jammed full of ornaments, each tree with its own theme and totally beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time in there just looking at each tree. Amazing!
When we got home with all the necessary groceries we started prepping for the evenings food. Spinach dip, spring rolls, samosas, crab filled cucumber thingies, dry garlic ribs, chips and salsa, pickles, olives and booze booze booze! Then we sat around and impatiently waited for Bradley and Aryn.
We ate first then the present explosion! What wonderful gifts!!! We always get our pile then, starting with the youngest, go around and open one present at a time. And the presents this year were plentiful and perfect. We laughed and laughed and laughed til our poor stomachs couldn't take it anymore!!! After the presents we played jenga and 80's trivia. Bradley, a tad three sheets to the wind was so funny! What a guy!
I got some amazing, and tons, of presents. April and Myles gave me the most beautiful jug/pitcher. I will take a pic rather than try to describe it. So beautiful! And Aryn and Bradley gave me two trays. I had a tray on my wish list. Wait til you see the pics of them! One is, or was, a window at one time! And the other one is a gorgeous silver shimmery varnished one...stunning! And then a ton of other things, including my obligatory bag of bridge mix from Arnie. The living room looks like a bomb hit it!
So today is turkey day. And like Aryn pointed out last night, limping our way to bed, we ain't on any schedule, it doesn't matter how late we eat so we can enjoy what the day brings and eat when its ready, no matter the time. The only thing that must happen is I need to pick up the roast for tomorrow night's dinner.
One thing I must mention here. As I have said before, I have basically just let Wrangler kind of teach me what his routines are and what he knows how to do etc. This is kind of necessary when you rescue an old dog.
Well in the bottom of the xmas tree bag, the stinky one, I found an unwrapped little present for Molly from Elise and Fenton. Somehow it just got passed by and I have no idea how many xmases ago that was.
On a whim I gave it to Wrangler, and he gently took the wrapped gift in his mouth. He then put the present on the floor, immediately put a paw on it to anchor it, and quite delicately and methodically tore the paper off of that present, bit by bit! Clearly he had done this before and judging by his excitement before I gave him a gift, when he saw all the activity and presents, he was quite excited. And the moment I gave him that present, he knew exactly what to do! And inside was a bag of doggie treats! We opened it up and he got his treats! It was quite something.
So I have pics of all this and later I will get them onto the lappy and put some on here and share our early xmas eve with you. TTYL
I don't remember where I left off but I guess it doesn't really matter. This last week has been busy getting ready for this busy weekend. Cleaning, prepping, cooking, baking, wrapping, trips to the grocery store. And then after all that I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer until midnight last night! Fortunately I don't stuff it. I do the stuffing in the crock pot so it doesn't really matter. You can cook a turkey from totally frozen if need be, but I actually never have.
April and Myles arrived Thursday night and we had a lovely evening sitting around, snacking on a chicken soup I made just before they came and visiting. Peter has gone to Vancouver for a few days. I miss him. Especially early in the morning when he would come up and we would solve the world's problems over a cup of coffee. But Monte was up super early and April came upstairs so it was the three of us sitting around and gabbing over coffee.
Ape and I went shopping all morning. We went to Nesguards...the nursery/market place we have been to before. And we discovered upon going through a certain door there, a room with probably over fifty decorated full sized xmas trees. Each tree was jammed full of ornaments, each tree with its own theme and totally beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time in there just looking at each tree. Amazing!
When we got home with all the necessary groceries we started prepping for the evenings food. Spinach dip, spring rolls, samosas, crab filled cucumber thingies, dry garlic ribs, chips and salsa, pickles, olives and booze booze booze! Then we sat around and impatiently waited for Bradley and Aryn.
We ate first then the present explosion! What wonderful gifts!!! We always get our pile then, starting with the youngest, go around and open one present at a time. And the presents this year were plentiful and perfect. We laughed and laughed and laughed til our poor stomachs couldn't take it anymore!!! After the presents we played jenga and 80's trivia. Bradley, a tad three sheets to the wind was so funny! What a guy!
I got some amazing, and tons, of presents. April and Myles gave me the most beautiful jug/pitcher. I will take a pic rather than try to describe it. So beautiful! And Aryn and Bradley gave me two trays. I had a tray on my wish list. Wait til you see the pics of them! One is, or was, a window at one time! And the other one is a gorgeous silver shimmery varnished one...stunning! And then a ton of other things, including my obligatory bag of bridge mix from Arnie. The living room looks like a bomb hit it!
So today is turkey day. And like Aryn pointed out last night, limping our way to bed, we ain't on any schedule, it doesn't matter how late we eat so we can enjoy what the day brings and eat when its ready, no matter the time. The only thing that must happen is I need to pick up the roast for tomorrow night's dinner.
One thing I must mention here. As I have said before, I have basically just let Wrangler kind of teach me what his routines are and what he knows how to do etc. This is kind of necessary when you rescue an old dog.
Well in the bottom of the xmas tree bag, the stinky one, I found an unwrapped little present for Molly from Elise and Fenton. Somehow it just got passed by and I have no idea how many xmases ago that was.
On a whim I gave it to Wrangler, and he gently took the wrapped gift in his mouth. He then put the present on the floor, immediately put a paw on it to anchor it, and quite delicately and methodically tore the paper off of that present, bit by bit! Clearly he had done this before and judging by his excitement before I gave him a gift, when he saw all the activity and presents, he was quite excited. And the moment I gave him that present, he knew exactly what to do! And inside was a bag of doggie treats! We opened it up and he got his treats! It was quite something.
So I have pics of all this and later I will get them onto the lappy and put some on here and share our early xmas eve with you. TTYL
Saturday, December 14, 2019
I LIKED IT!
I wrapped all the presents! I found a nest of xmas wrapping accoutrement in the bottom of the xmas tree bag. It made the wrapping a lot easier. Now we have a nice stack of wrapped presents under our wee tree. And I actually enjoyed it! The table is just high enough that I don't get a back ache too quickly so I can get more things done before taking a break. Anyway, it's all done now. I still miss Spoddy though.
And....I executed the shortbread recipe...and it was spot on! Nothing tastes better than shortbread cookies. But they need to age. These are cookies that taste better as time passes and they kind of dry out a little. Today it's butter tarts with pecans. They also taste better with time.
Once again the neighbours two doors down were fighting and hollering and swearing outside at five this morning. They are so violent...woke me right up. And the language! It's unbelievable. The police were there the other day. Peter saw it whilst he walked by. Apparently a lot of people were filing out of the house....he didn't stick around to see where they were going or how.
They are the ones with the barking dog. Now I know I am probably going to offend some people out there (Arnie, I am sorry but...) I hate (sorry Mom but hate is the only word appropriate) pit bulls. I understand completely that if they are raised lovingly and properly there is less chance they will eat your newborn....but they still can as they can be unpredictable. I understand that it's humans that generally ruin them. That being said, there is always going to be bad dog owners, therefore there is always going to be dangerous pit bulls. I know...lots of other dogs bite too, maybe even more, but they don't do the damage that pits do.
The degenerates next door have a pit bull running around in their fenced back yard. And that brainless idiot dog can bark from seven in the evening until five in the morning, usually when the household gets home, drunk and stupid. Only good thing is even though the jerks are loud and obnoxious, the dog is let in and stops barking. Great neighbours.
Peter and I were outside on the deck dealing with all the garbage and recycling. When the containers are overflowing, we go out and sort and organize and Peter packs it all down the stairs to Monte's van. Actually its Peter that sorts and organizes. I just happened to be out there with him this day.
Well, the other day we emptied out a garbage can and horror of horrors, guess what we found in the bottom of the container? Rat poop!!!! Oh man. What next. Now we have to come up with a different plan for garbage and recycling. Sigh. (shovel list)
Years ago I was in our garage sorting boxes with Bill. I grabbed a box to sort when a rat ran out of the box, up my right arm and off my shoulder. I have not really recovered from that. I ran outside to Bill, crying and screaming, grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him back and forth and yelling 'I am never going back into that garage ever again!!!!!!!' Shook me up and I still cringe when I think of it.
Well I am off to Save-on to get my baking stuff and some bones. Theres tarts to make and gravy starters. (fat and marrow from the bones). TTYL
And....I executed the shortbread recipe...and it was spot on! Nothing tastes better than shortbread cookies. But they need to age. These are cookies that taste better as time passes and they kind of dry out a little. Today it's butter tarts with pecans. They also taste better with time.
Once again the neighbours two doors down were fighting and hollering and swearing outside at five this morning. They are so violent...woke me right up. And the language! It's unbelievable. The police were there the other day. Peter saw it whilst he walked by. Apparently a lot of people were filing out of the house....he didn't stick around to see where they were going or how.
They are the ones with the barking dog. Now I know I am probably going to offend some people out there (Arnie, I am sorry but...) I hate (sorry Mom but hate is the only word appropriate) pit bulls. I understand completely that if they are raised lovingly and properly there is less chance they will eat your newborn....but they still can as they can be unpredictable. I understand that it's humans that generally ruin them. That being said, there is always going to be bad dog owners, therefore there is always going to be dangerous pit bulls. I know...lots of other dogs bite too, maybe even more, but they don't do the damage that pits do.
The degenerates next door have a pit bull running around in their fenced back yard. And that brainless idiot dog can bark from seven in the evening until five in the morning, usually when the household gets home, drunk and stupid. Only good thing is even though the jerks are loud and obnoxious, the dog is let in and stops barking. Great neighbours.
Peter and I were outside on the deck dealing with all the garbage and recycling. When the containers are overflowing, we go out and sort and organize and Peter packs it all down the stairs to Monte's van. Actually its Peter that sorts and organizes. I just happened to be out there with him this day.
Well, the other day we emptied out a garbage can and horror of horrors, guess what we found in the bottom of the container? Rat poop!!!! Oh man. What next. Now we have to come up with a different plan for garbage and recycling. Sigh. (shovel list)
Years ago I was in our garage sorting boxes with Bill. I grabbed a box to sort when a rat ran out of the box, up my right arm and off my shoulder. I have not really recovered from that. I ran outside to Bill, crying and screaming, grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him back and forth and yelling 'I am never going back into that garage ever again!!!!!!!' Shook me up and I still cringe when I think of it.
Well I am off to Save-on to get my baking stuff and some bones. Theres tarts to make and gravy starters. (fat and marrow from the bones). TTYL
 |
| SEE ALL THE PRESENTS |
 |
| SEE ALL THE COOKIES |
Monday, December 9, 2019
SPODDY!!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?
It's that time of year again. Present wrapping time. I hate to say it but its getting so that I miss Bill more at this time of the year than any other time! I do not especially like wrapping presents and Bill was so patient and just slowly but surely made his way through the stack of gifts, one by one, getting them all wrapped up.
Me? Not so much. I try to wrap at a hundred miles an hour, which never ends well, get a horrible back ache, then forget what I wrapped and who its for. And then you try to discreetly open one end to see what the hell it is and who its for and the whole thing rips and has to be totally rewrapped. Grrrrrr! (shovel list)
I think I mentioned a while back that in this household we decided to use what we have, improvise you might say, and avoid buying anything new.
With that in mind I have decided to use newspaper. I have a whackin' stack of it in the basket at the front door under the mail slot. I have now cancelled that paper. We would use it for hot dog roasts, camping etc but those days be gone! So wrapping paper it is.
I have started to stack the presents on the table, rounded up the scotch tape (several boxes but no dispenser), many name tags at the ready, pens, scissors, twine instead of ribbon blah blah blah. I shall start tomorrow. And I will need to get it done cuz I think Millie comes this week. Sigh. I have started to practice a piece on the piano so maybe I will wrap two presents, tag them right away, then sit at the piano and run through the piece a couple of times then go wrap a couple more. Should work. I can put that b*tch Judge Judy on the tv to distract me. The cow. (I pvr her )
We finally gave in and got Hey Google (I don't know what to call it). The jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It's still creeping me out. Seems the ultimate self indulgence...I don't ever have to leave my chair now! I just need her to go to the loo for me and I can sit here for days and atrophy. I am seeing if I can get through a whole day and keep my step count under ten. (just kidding! I know some of you believed me!!!! Can't say as I blame ya). But it is a pretty amazing machine. The hardest part of setting it up was trying to remember the couple of passwords I needed to get the app going.
Peter is still here with us. We have had many many amazing conversations. He is such a learned, extremely well read person. I have learned so much from him. And he cleans!!! I am just NOT used to that. He does dishes. He sweeps. He puts things away. And then he sits down with me in the living room and we talk and talk and talk. I love it. Both Monte and I were saying tonight how we dread the day he leaves, which selfishly I hope isn't any time soon. I still miss Graeme and Anton. You get to know these kids so well and then poof! they are gone.
All day I have been trying to remember my shortbread recipe I always use. Originally I got it from Leila, a Monte Creek neighbour. Best recipe ever! And I think it goes like this:
1 pound of salted butter, softened
3 cups flour
1cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
Using your hands, mix it all until it forms a ball. Make little balls and flatten and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until just barely brown around the edges, somewhere between ten and twenty minutes. If you have them, before baking place red and green candied cherries cut in half on top of each cookie. Or do something foolish like putting sprinkles or crushed candy cane on top. I prefer mine unbesmirched!
There now its forever findable. At the craft fair I bought a big honking bag of already mixed shortbread, unbaked. You just have to put it in a pan, flatten it, and top it with your fave bar recipe. I think I will make one pan of lemon bars and one pan of toffee bars...from Company's Coming bar cookbook. Niece Dorothy and I used to make them in Bamfield back in the day.
So now I am rambling again. Hangin' er up time...TTYL
Me? Not so much. I try to wrap at a hundred miles an hour, which never ends well, get a horrible back ache, then forget what I wrapped and who its for. And then you try to discreetly open one end to see what the hell it is and who its for and the whole thing rips and has to be totally rewrapped. Grrrrrr! (shovel list)
I think I mentioned a while back that in this household we decided to use what we have, improvise you might say, and avoid buying anything new.
With that in mind I have decided to use newspaper. I have a whackin' stack of it in the basket at the front door under the mail slot. I have now cancelled that paper. We would use it for hot dog roasts, camping etc but those days be gone! So wrapping paper it is.
I have started to stack the presents on the table, rounded up the scotch tape (several boxes but no dispenser), many name tags at the ready, pens, scissors, twine instead of ribbon blah blah blah. I shall start tomorrow. And I will need to get it done cuz I think Millie comes this week. Sigh. I have started to practice a piece on the piano so maybe I will wrap two presents, tag them right away, then sit at the piano and run through the piece a couple of times then go wrap a couple more. Should work. I can put that b*tch Judge Judy on the tv to distract me. The cow. (I pvr her )
We finally gave in and got Hey Google (I don't know what to call it). The jury is still out on whether I like it or not. It's still creeping me out. Seems the ultimate self indulgence...I don't ever have to leave my chair now! I just need her to go to the loo for me and I can sit here for days and atrophy. I am seeing if I can get through a whole day and keep my step count under ten. (just kidding! I know some of you believed me!!!! Can't say as I blame ya). But it is a pretty amazing machine. The hardest part of setting it up was trying to remember the couple of passwords I needed to get the app going.
Peter is still here with us. We have had many many amazing conversations. He is such a learned, extremely well read person. I have learned so much from him. And he cleans!!! I am just NOT used to that. He does dishes. He sweeps. He puts things away. And then he sits down with me in the living room and we talk and talk and talk. I love it. Both Monte and I were saying tonight how we dread the day he leaves, which selfishly I hope isn't any time soon. I still miss Graeme and Anton. You get to know these kids so well and then poof! they are gone.
All day I have been trying to remember my shortbread recipe I always use. Originally I got it from Leila, a Monte Creek neighbour. Best recipe ever! And I think it goes like this:
1 pound of salted butter, softened
3 cups flour
1cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
Using your hands, mix it all until it forms a ball. Make little balls and flatten and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 until just barely brown around the edges, somewhere between ten and twenty minutes. If you have them, before baking place red and green candied cherries cut in half on top of each cookie. Or do something foolish like putting sprinkles or crushed candy cane on top. I prefer mine unbesmirched!
There now its forever findable. At the craft fair I bought a big honking bag of already mixed shortbread, unbaked. You just have to put it in a pan, flatten it, and top it with your fave bar recipe. I think I will make one pan of lemon bars and one pan of toffee bars...from Company's Coming bar cookbook. Niece Dorothy and I used to make them in Bamfield back in the day.
So now I am rambling again. Hangin' er up time...TTYL
Friday, December 6, 2019
CHILLI TIL THE COWS COME HOME
If anybody knows me, my kitchen mantra is 'cook once, eat three times' and not on the same day!
I know in the past when I have peeps in for dinner, they are always horrified by the amount of whatever I make. I have a massive wok, biggest I have ever come across. When I make Mac and cheese, I am not done until that thing is overflowing. I have yet to make a dinner where I don't have enough to feed the proverbial army.
My mom was pretty much the polar opposite. In fact her kitchen mantra was 'when it runs out, people just won't be able to have anymore.' Honestly! I actually heard her repeat that several times when I had the audacity to suggest tentatively that four potatoes might not be enough for eight people. And that would be a nervous Nelly nightmare to me! Even when I weighed 115 pounds and ne're did a carb ever enter my system, I always made enough to sink an airtight ship.
Last night was December's monthly dinner. Mike had requested chilli. Now normally, once I discovered Stagg chilli, I felt there was no point in making homemade chilli anymore. Not when that canned stuff is the best chilli going. I heard of someone, through a friend, that entered a chilli competition, used Stagg and won!!! I am not surprised. But I needed to make enough chilli for 14 people, opening can after can of Stagg was not an option. Besides I am pretty sure I would have had to traipse around to four different grocery stores to get enough cans of the stuff.
I hauled out my hugest pot, pic below. It is so big you can bath a baby in it...(I know this cuz I have done it). I fried up four massive onions, six chopped peppers and a pile of garlic. I had eight pounds of hamburger in the freezer. I had a case of diced tomatoes from Costco (eight cans minus one) and I bought ten cans of kidney beans. I bought ten packs of chillo seasoning (the secret to the best chilli possible). I used half a jar of beef beyond bullion. A little cocoa, brown sugar and balsamic. And voila!!!!!! the biggest pot of chilli I have ever made.
There was so much chilli, plus a smaller pot of a vegetarian one, made with chopped up mushrooms plus all the other stuff, I was almost, but not quite, embarrassed. But guess what?
Its all gone. Every last drop. I couldn't believe it!!! I also made two and half dozen hot dogs, toasted half a long loaf of bread, and made two big bowls of coleslaw. For dessert I bought two big beautiful Black Forest cakes. I have Styrofoam food containers and I expected to send food home with people. Well I did manage to give out a couple of containers of chilli but guess what? It was gone!!!! All of it!! The chilli pot is empty. The coleslaw is gone. Every hot dog got eaten. I had to make extra toast. Holy Crap!!!! I thought we would be eating chilli forever. I guess not!! And there wasn't even one slice of cake left. All gone.
It was Ange's turn to pick January's dinner. And she picked lasagna. Oh fer geez!!!! I haven't made lasagna for about forty years and then I only made it twice. But those two times were enough to teach me what NOT to do. One of them being to make enough meat sauce to float a boat. Both times I made it I thought I had made too much sauce. So with happy thoughts of having frozen sauce in the freezer, I ran out half way through the assembly procedure. I shan't make that mistake this time. I still have another eight pounds of hamburger in the freezer. And I shall make a trip to Costco for another case of tomatoes and cottage cheese and mozzerella and Italian spice and......oops, making a shopping list here, sorry.
Anywhooo, we had a wonderful time. That group is such an eclectic interesting bunch. Half of them still smoke and spent some serious time out on the deck. Its been a long time since I have been in a group where a good portion smoke. Monte took them all home, none of them drive, not long after dinner. I think Mike would have liked to have stayed longer to visit. He and Monte have amazing conversations and I know he would love visiting with Peter if he had a chance. Next time I think I will suggest Monte take him home later.
So now I am signing off. I just had a bed delivered from Amazon. Peter will finally have a proper bed, albeit in the laundry room! TTYL
I know in the past when I have peeps in for dinner, they are always horrified by the amount of whatever I make. I have a massive wok, biggest I have ever come across. When I make Mac and cheese, I am not done until that thing is overflowing. I have yet to make a dinner where I don't have enough to feed the proverbial army.
My mom was pretty much the polar opposite. In fact her kitchen mantra was 'when it runs out, people just won't be able to have anymore.' Honestly! I actually heard her repeat that several times when I had the audacity to suggest tentatively that four potatoes might not be enough for eight people. And that would be a nervous Nelly nightmare to me! Even when I weighed 115 pounds and ne're did a carb ever enter my system, I always made enough to sink an airtight ship.
Last night was December's monthly dinner. Mike had requested chilli. Now normally, once I discovered Stagg chilli, I felt there was no point in making homemade chilli anymore. Not when that canned stuff is the best chilli going. I heard of someone, through a friend, that entered a chilli competition, used Stagg and won!!! I am not surprised. But I needed to make enough chilli for 14 people, opening can after can of Stagg was not an option. Besides I am pretty sure I would have had to traipse around to four different grocery stores to get enough cans of the stuff.
I hauled out my hugest pot, pic below. It is so big you can bath a baby in it...(I know this cuz I have done it). I fried up four massive onions, six chopped peppers and a pile of garlic. I had eight pounds of hamburger in the freezer. I had a case of diced tomatoes from Costco (eight cans minus one) and I bought ten cans of kidney beans. I bought ten packs of chillo seasoning (the secret to the best chilli possible). I used half a jar of beef beyond bullion. A little cocoa, brown sugar and balsamic. And voila!!!!!! the biggest pot of chilli I have ever made.
There was so much chilli, plus a smaller pot of a vegetarian one, made with chopped up mushrooms plus all the other stuff, I was almost, but not quite, embarrassed. But guess what?
Its all gone. Every last drop. I couldn't believe it!!! I also made two and half dozen hot dogs, toasted half a long loaf of bread, and made two big bowls of coleslaw. For dessert I bought two big beautiful Black Forest cakes. I have Styrofoam food containers and I expected to send food home with people. Well I did manage to give out a couple of containers of chilli but guess what? It was gone!!!! All of it!! The chilli pot is empty. The coleslaw is gone. Every hot dog got eaten. I had to make extra toast. Holy Crap!!!! I thought we would be eating chilli forever. I guess not!! And there wasn't even one slice of cake left. All gone.
It was Ange's turn to pick January's dinner. And she picked lasagna. Oh fer geez!!!! I haven't made lasagna for about forty years and then I only made it twice. But those two times were enough to teach me what NOT to do. One of them being to make enough meat sauce to float a boat. Both times I made it I thought I had made too much sauce. So with happy thoughts of having frozen sauce in the freezer, I ran out half way through the assembly procedure. I shan't make that mistake this time. I still have another eight pounds of hamburger in the freezer. And I shall make a trip to Costco for another case of tomatoes and cottage cheese and mozzerella and Italian spice and......oops, making a shopping list here, sorry.
Anywhooo, we had a wonderful time. That group is such an eclectic interesting bunch. Half of them still smoke and spent some serious time out on the deck. Its been a long time since I have been in a group where a good portion smoke. Monte took them all home, none of them drive, not long after dinner. I think Mike would have liked to have stayed longer to visit. He and Monte have amazing conversations and I know he would love visiting with Peter if he had a chance. Next time I think I will suggest Monte take him home later.
So now I am signing off. I just had a bed delivered from Amazon. Peter will finally have a proper bed, albeit in the laundry room! TTYL
 |
| I see a resemblance between Danny Devito and me :( |
 |
| MY GIANT POT |
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
VERY SAD WEEKEND
I think I mentioned that Jennifer was coming last weekend. It was an awesome birthday present from her squeeze. She was sooo excited!
Samsung sent an appliance guy around last Wednesday and fixed the stove problem, in the nick of time. Jen was coming Thursday. Turns out that it was an old breaker problem. Need a new breaker, but in the meantime it still works if there isn't too much turned on on the stove. So rib dinner it would be!!!
Monte and I headed down to Nanaimo. Before heading to the airport we stopped at Costco. In the middle of shopping I needed to make a sugar cane run...as usual. (frigging g..damn shovel list). As I seated myself comfortably in there my phone rang. I answered. And it was a completely distraught, crying Jennifer. My poor little girl.
She was at the counter in the Calgary airport to get her boarding pass and her driver's license had expired on Nov. 7th, her birthday. Ah geez, they wouldn't let her board! And they wouldn't take her luggage off the plane. She was so devastated and all I could do was commiserate verbally...I couldn't solve this one.
As it turns out she did get her luggage back the next afternoon. But let me tell you about what happened when I left the turlet cubicle after I hung up the phone.
I walked out and there was a circle of women standing out there. Clearly they had heard me on the phone. They surrounded me and started to cluck sympathetically and ask if I was okay! OMG!!! What a womanly supportive thing to happen. I love women! Very comforting.
We finished shopping and skedaddled home....without our Tootsie. She is having a tough time right now with one thing and another and I just want to hug her.
Its been a very quiet week. And I have not left the house in days...as usual. Happily!!!! We did haul the xmas tree in from my dilapidated sheshed. The boys put it together and tested it out and all the lights worked etc... We leaned it on the area behind my chair temporarily.
Within a few minutes I noticed a smell. It was a very unpleasant smell I might add, sort of a cross between mushrooms and a swamp. Clearly that tree had been trussed up in a tree bag and put in the sheshed for waaaay too long. Ewwwww!!! Out to the deck it went.
And when we decided to hook it up and put it in the sliding door window, it didn't work. Looking more closely we could see that somewhere in the moving it back and forth the plug got pulled and broke. Crap!!! Out to the garbage it went! I have bought a little four footer, already lit, from amazon. It will be here on Dec. 12th. I shall put it on a stool in the front room window...just enough room there for a littleun'.
Tomorrow night is chilli night with our Port Alberni crew. I think there are 14 coming this time. I have added hot dogs to the menu and coleslaw. The conundrum is the Black Forest cake that has been requested. I think I will make a wacky cake and top it off with cherries and whipped cream and a little kirsch. Yum. I also think I will create the picnic feel and get paper plates and red cups. Sure will cut the work down.
Today is shop day. Have to leave the house for that!!! Best get at it! TTYL
Samsung sent an appliance guy around last Wednesday and fixed the stove problem, in the nick of time. Jen was coming Thursday. Turns out that it was an old breaker problem. Need a new breaker, but in the meantime it still works if there isn't too much turned on on the stove. So rib dinner it would be!!!
Monte and I headed down to Nanaimo. Before heading to the airport we stopped at Costco. In the middle of shopping I needed to make a sugar cane run...as usual. (frigging g..damn shovel list). As I seated myself comfortably in there my phone rang. I answered. And it was a completely distraught, crying Jennifer. My poor little girl.
She was at the counter in the Calgary airport to get her boarding pass and her driver's license had expired on Nov. 7th, her birthday. Ah geez, they wouldn't let her board! And they wouldn't take her luggage off the plane. She was so devastated and all I could do was commiserate verbally...I couldn't solve this one.
As it turns out she did get her luggage back the next afternoon. But let me tell you about what happened when I left the turlet cubicle after I hung up the phone.
I walked out and there was a circle of women standing out there. Clearly they had heard me on the phone. They surrounded me and started to cluck sympathetically and ask if I was okay! OMG!!! What a womanly supportive thing to happen. I love women! Very comforting.
We finished shopping and skedaddled home....without our Tootsie. She is having a tough time right now with one thing and another and I just want to hug her.
Its been a very quiet week. And I have not left the house in days...as usual. Happily!!!! We did haul the xmas tree in from my dilapidated sheshed. The boys put it together and tested it out and all the lights worked etc... We leaned it on the area behind my chair temporarily.
Within a few minutes I noticed a smell. It was a very unpleasant smell I might add, sort of a cross between mushrooms and a swamp. Clearly that tree had been trussed up in a tree bag and put in the sheshed for waaaay too long. Ewwwww!!! Out to the deck it went.
And when we decided to hook it up and put it in the sliding door window, it didn't work. Looking more closely we could see that somewhere in the moving it back and forth the plug got pulled and broke. Crap!!! Out to the garbage it went! I have bought a little four footer, already lit, from amazon. It will be here on Dec. 12th. I shall put it on a stool in the front room window...just enough room there for a littleun'.
Tomorrow night is chilli night with our Port Alberni crew. I think there are 14 coming this time. I have added hot dogs to the menu and coleslaw. The conundrum is the Black Forest cake that has been requested. I think I will make a wacky cake and top it off with cherries and whipped cream and a little kirsch. Yum. I also think I will create the picnic feel and get paper plates and red cups. Sure will cut the work down.
Today is shop day. Have to leave the house for that!!! Best get at it! TTYL
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